Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 9 September 2024
1291. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if tests have been conducted on the efficacy of the TB vaccines currently being administered; if there are plans to change or update the vaccines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35530/24]
View answerTB vaccines are currently being used as part of the wildlife programme of the bovine TB programme. My Department has carried out scientific research on the effectiveness of badger vaccination in a number of locations across Ireland over the years, in collaboration with researchers from University College Dublin.
A field trial in County Kilkenny using the BCG vaccine and a blind placebo demonstrated that vaccination, with an efficacy of 60%, could lower the R value (reproductive ratio) of badger-to-badger TB spread from 1.22 to 0.5. A further trial, termed the Non-Inferiority Trial was subsequently carried out in 7 areas of the country over 7 years, finishing in 2017. As the efficacy of BCG vaccination in reducing the spread of M. bovis between badgers was proven in the original trial, this subsequent trial examined whether vaccinating badgers would keep spread to cattle suppressed. Vaccination was carried out in a large part of a county and was compared to culling badgers (in response to TB breakdowns) in another similarly sized part of the counties. This provided a favourable outcome.
Badger vaccination is now an integral part of the Irish TB Eradication Programme. This follows over 15 years of research work using BCG vaccine to prevent tuberculosis infection in badgers, and scientific trials carried out between 2013 and 2017 that show that vaccination is no less effective than culling. Badger vaccination is thus being substituted for continued culling of badgers such that a significant reduction in the numbers of badgers culled can be achieved over the coming years while still maintaining effective control of the risk posed to cattle. The large-scale rollout of badger vaccination commenced in late 2019. Every year more and more of the countryside is designated as vaccination zones. This is reflected in the numbers of badgers captured for vaccination in these zones rising from an initial figure of 1,937 badgers in 2019, to 4,698 badgers in 2020. This figure rose again in 2021 to 6,586 badgers, with a further 7,244 badgers captured for vaccination in 2022. Last year over 9,000 badgers were captured in the vaccination zones. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in funding for the Wildlife Programme.
